I know sometimes we open our mouths widely and stick out our tongues doing our Lion's Breath, but here is a book full of weirdly wonderful facial exercises and massage techniques designed to address an often neglected body part when thinking of strength conditioning.
I think some marketing director told them to add the "younger looking you" tag on the subtitle, because our culture has a youth fetish. I can't tell you how offended I get at everyone striving to look younger, as if younger is the "ideal". I disagree. I am an outspoken proponent of aging naturally and living with as much health and vitality as I can -- at any age.
But having said that, I do note that we put a lot of emphasis on trimming, toning, and flexing our bodies, but lament in the mirror and rub magic potions on our faces.
People! Your face is full of muscles too! When is the last time you gave them a workout? Doesn't it stand to reason that our face muscles will atrophy over time, just as our biceps and glutes do?
As for our yoga practice, how about bringing mindful awareness to our faces? Is your default one of peaceful repose or scrunched up nose? Do your lips slightly part or do you keep them pursed? Do you look down a lot or tilt your head back? Do you knit your brow or raise your eyebrows? Do you even think about what your face is doing as you drive, watch TV, read a book, talk to your friends? Is your face immobile most of the time or openly expressive and always on the move?
I found many websites and YouTube videos demonstrating 'facial yoga' and most were basically the same exercises I found in this book. I think exercise only turns into 'yoga' with intention. Do we want to "look younger" or do we want to be healthy, with all of our muscles working in peak performance to our benefit? We will not stave off the process of aging forever and it's a waste of our mental and physical energy to believe we can. However, we can take control of how we age.
Our yoga practice teaches that the body and the ego are not the "real" us anyway, so stop with the obsessing -- unless you are obsessing about being a strong, powerful, calm, resilient presence in this world, where your spirit and true essence shines through. Let that shine begin on your beautiful, healthy, strong face!
Namaste....donnajurene
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